Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was convicted of a criminal charge Monday for refusing to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.
The verdict from U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton represents a victory for critics who voiced anger over Arpaio’s unusual efforts to get tough on crime. Some of those efforts included jailing inmates in tents during triple-digit heat, forcing them to wear pink underwear and making hundreds of arrests in crackdowns that divided immigrant families.
Arpaio spent 24 years as the sheriff of metro Phoenix, and skirted two earlier criminal investigations of his office.
But he wasn’t able to avoid legal problems when he prolonged his signature immigration patrols for nearly a year and a half after a different judge ordered him to stop.
The 85-year-old man was found guilty of misdemeanor contempt of court and faces up to six years in jail.